Can Bayern edge closer to the title?

By Ben Sully @SullyBen

League leaders Bayern Munich will continue their title push when they travel to the Weserstadion to face Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Werder Bremen

Bremen were unable to follow up their 4-2 win over Hertha BSC with a positive result in their away meeting with Schalke 04 last weekend. Marvin Ducksch gave Bremen the lead in the 18th minute, but a late Sepp van den Berg equaliser was followed by a stoppage-time winner from Dominick Drexler, condemning Ole Werner’s side to a narrow 2-1 defeat.

After winning just one of their last eight games, 12th-placed Bremen know that they will have their work cut out when they face Bayern on Saturday.

Having conceded at least two goals in their last eight matches, Bremen will have to improve defensively if they are to pick up a result against the league’s highest scorers. If they can claim all three points, it would represent their first Bundesliga win over Bayern since September 2008.

Team News

Werner has confirmed that Niclas Füllkrug will miss a fourth consecutive game with a calf problem. The hosts are also expected to be without the services of Dikeni Salifou, Eren Dinkci and Felix Agu.

Bayern Munich

After going four competitive games without a victory, Bayern returned to winning ways against Hertha BSC last Sunday. Second-half efforts from Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman guided the Bavarians to a 2-0 victory, which moved them to the top of the Bundesliga table after Borussia Dortmund dropped two points against Bochum.

Bayern now have a one-point lead over Dortmund, and they know that if they win their last four games they will be guaranteed an 11th consecutive league title.

Although Bayern have lost four of their last six away games in all competitions, they have won their previous 15 competitive away matches against Bremen.

They also claimed a comfortable home win over Bremen in the reverse fixture, cruising to a 6-1 victory in November thanks to a Gnabry hat trick and goals from Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka and Mathys Tel.

Bayern know that a win on Saturday would move them four points clear of Dortmund, who will face Wolfsburg at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday.

Team News

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Dayot Upamecano, Josip Stanišić, Alphonso Davies and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting will all miss Saturday’s contest. Goretzka, meanwhile, will serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the Bundesliga season last weekend.